


Pack Guardian

by JaidMcDanno



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Not Season/Series 03 Compliant, Set during S3, sterek
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-09-03
Packaged: 2018-02-14 00:50:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2171664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaidMcDanno/pseuds/JaidMcDanno
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Struggling with the darkness within, Stiles finds a new ally. As the pack comes together again to fight the new threat, feelings emerge that could tear everything apart or be the glue that holds it all together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> I started this last December and then promptly forgot about it until recently. If it's something you think might be worth continuing, please let me know and I'll get writing! This is unbeta'd so any and all mistakes are my own. Thanks for reading!

Stiles was on edge.

He couldn't sleep, his grades were dropping as a result and everywhere he went he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Then again the grade problem could possibly have something to do with the small fact that he was convinced that all of his teachers were evil. Literally.

Scott was oblivious; too busy making-up with Allison to notice his best friend was slowly losing his mind. His dad knew something was wrong but wasn't sure how to approach it, and the rest of the pack were still reeling from the deaths of Boyd and Erica. He knew that if he asked they would be there to help in a second, but really, what could they do? It was just nightmares. It wasn't some corporeal thing that could be hunted and killed; it was all in his head.

Still, that didn't make it any easier when he woke up gasping, shaking and covered in sweat every night. He couldn't remember the last good full nights sleep he'd had.

Stiles sat back from the computer and stretched his arms above his head until his shoulders and back popped, then quietly made his way to the bathroom. If his dad woke up, he would have to lie about why he was up so late, and he'd told enough lies to his father already. The reflection in the mirror showed how gaunt he looked, the dark circles standing out in stark contrast against his already pale skin. He looked away and ran a tired hand over his face. God, he need to sleep.

His entire body ached with fatigue and his mind had long since developed a fuzzy haze. Quickly finishing his business, he crossed back over into his room and climbed into bed. As he tried to find a comfortable position, he willed himself to fall asleep. Like clockwork, the nightmares began.

*******

_Stiles spun around sharply as he heard a voice call his name, it was distant but gaining on him. He wasn't sure who the voice belonged too, but he knew he had to get away. Panic clawed at his insides as he tried to run but found his feet stuck to the ground, all around him the trees blocked any moonlight from breaking through. His ragged breathing and pounding heart was all he could hear now; the voice had gone silent._

_Although he couldn't see anything, he knew someone was standing just beyond the trees. He felt himself shaking, his hands desperately pulling at his legs, but still he couldn't move. Rustling came from the trees on his left and he closed his eyes, not wanting to see any more monsters. A full minute passed and nothing had killed him, so he risked a peek and saw a girl around his age standing in front of him._

_She had dark hair that fell to just below her shoulders, and skin so pale it almost glowed in the darkness. She barely came up to his shoulder but somehow he felt better having someone else here with him. ''Stiles,'' She said, her voice soothing and gentle. ''It's okay, you're safe, I promise.''_

_''Who are you?'' He asked, his own voice breaking slightly._

_The girl smiled, ''I'm here to help.''_

_Stiles narrowed his eyes, ''How do I know you're telling the truth?''_

_Her smile faded slowly, but her eyes remained soft, ''Because if I wasn't, you would be dead by now.''_

_Stiles clenched his jaw and looked away; he wanted so badly to trust her, to know that maybe he wasn't alone in this hellhole, but what if she was one of them? One of the things that he could now hear growling in the distance._

_She stepped closer and placed her hand on his chest, above his heart, ''Stiles, you must go now, wake up!'' Warmth radiated from where her hand rested, flooding his frozen limbs. His legs no longer felt like lead, and his feet finally responded to his brain. Before he could say anything else, she gave him a slight push and everything went white._

*******

Stiles jerked awake, his heart hammering in his chest. He lunged for the lamp on his bedside table and bathed the room in light, chasing away the shadows that seemed darker than usual. He yanked his shirt down and looked at the skin there; a red splotch in the shape of a hand-print covered the left side of his chest – directly over his heart.

That dream had been different than the rest; usually he ran for what felt like hours and then ended up back where he started, surrounded by faceless creatures that somehow managed to chant his name over and over again. But the dark haired girl...who was she? Just something his mind had conjured to protect him or something else? Whatever the answer, Stiles was just grateful he was awake and away from the darkness.

He left the light on and laid back against his pillows, he doubted he would sleep again but closed his eyes anyway. This time however, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

The hand print under his shirt faded until there was nothing left but warmth.

*******

The next morning Stiles woke slowly, his mind pleasantly empty, and his body more relaxed than it had been in weeks. He felt better than he had in weeks. Cracking one eye open, he glanced at the clock; 12:34 - Stiles really loved Saturdays. He stretched out on his back and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. The house was quiet but he vaguely remembered his Dad mentioning that he wasn't going in today, so he threw back the covers and went downstairs.

The Sheriff looked up from the newspaper as Stiles entered the kitchen and did a double take. Stiles figured he must look almost human after a nights sleep, it must make a nice change for his father. ''Hey,'' He greeted, going to the fridge and pulling out the milk for the cereal.

''Morning,'' His father replied hesitantly.

Stiles ignored the concern in his eyes and sat down, taking a bite of cereal to hold off any questions. He loved his father more than anything, but he didn't want to lose the numb feeling he had going. Having to talk about his problems was a sure fire way to do just that.

''Anything planned for today?'' His father asked casually, once they had finished eating.

Stiles shook his head, ''Not really, I was just going to finish a couple of things for school.''

The Sheriff nodded, ''Sounds good.''

Stiles sighed; it shouldn't be this awkward with his own father. ''What about you? What have you got planned for this wonderful day?'' He asked, trying to sound upbeat. They spoke for a few minutes more, then Stiles left for a shower.

The Sheriff sighed heavily, he wasn't sure what he could do to help, but he had to do something. And soon.

*******

After his shower Stiles sat at his desk and dutifully finished all of his homework before getting up and flopping onto his bed. He was asleep before he knew it.

_He appeared in the same clearing, but this time the girl was waiting for him._

_She stood, leaning against the nearest tree, watching him with an unreadable expression. The entire place felt different; less menacing. Stiles kept a wary eye on her as he walked around the clearing, trying to peer through the leafy canopy. He could see maybe 10 feet straight ahead before the darkness swallowed the trees. Nothing stood out that could tell him where exactly he was, so he turned to face her once again. She hadn't moved; but now she was staring off into the distance instead of at him. He slowly walked towards her but remained a few feet away out of caution._

_''Why are you here?'' He asked, quietly._

_She blinked as if clearing her head, ''To help you.''_

_''Yeah, so you said last night. But why now?'' He snapped._

_''Just because you couldn't see me, doesn't mean I wasn't there.'' She replied, sagely._

_Stiles felt anger bubbling up behind his breastbone, and frustration curled his hands into fists. ''What is that supposed to mean?! Who are you?''_

_She sighed and held her hand out, ''I'm Adrianna; you can call me Addy.'' He shook her hand and again warmth spread though him, instantly calming his nerves._

_''How do you do that?''_

_Addy smiled and shrugged, ''I'm hot, what can I say...''_

_Before he could stop it, a chuckle escaped him, and her smile grew. ''It's nice to see you smile again,'' She said._

_Stiles shook his head, ''Haven't had much to smile about lately...''_

_She tilted her head, ''You're alive, you're father knows the big bad secret and you guys stopped the Darach.'' He glared at her. ''But then again on the other hand, you died and came back to life, now there is a darkness inside you that you don't understand and can't control...yeah, I can see why you're having trouble sleeping.''_

_''What happened to helping me?'' He grumbled._

_She smirked, ''We both know that when you're being stubborn, the last thing you need is someone pandering to you. You need someone to tell you how it is, someone to help you sort out the facts.''_

_He sat down at the base of the tree and rested his elbows on his knees'. ''So what are the facts?''_

_Addy joined him on the ground, ''That you have a darkness inside you that you don't understand and can't control.''_

_He threw her a look that would have felled an actual person, ''Thank you for your spectacular insight, that really cleared everything right the fuck up!''_

_She bumped her shoulder against his and again he felt himself calm down. He took a deep breath, ''Sorry.''_

_She shook her head, ''Don't be, that's what I'm here for.''_

_They sat in silence for a few minutes before she turned to look at him, ''It's time for you to go now.''_

_Stiles raised his eyebrows, ''How do you-'' ''Your father is calling you.'' She said, right before he woke up._

*******

The dreams carried on like that for a few weeks and Stiles was starting to look forward to them in some sick, twisted way. Addy was the only person he could talk to about this without her thinking he was crazy. How ridiculous was that?

On the up side, his grades were improving again because he was getting enough sleep to function. The nightmares were still there, but before they could get to the _shit-yourself-in-terror_ stage, Addy would show up and the darkness would get...lighter somehow. God, he sounded pathetic.

He was acting like she actually existed and wasn't just a figment of his, admittedly very vivid, imagination.

''Earth to Stiles!'' Scott said, waving a hand in front of his face.

Stiles jerked back to reality and focused on his friend, ''What?''

Scott frowned at him, ''Are you okay, dude? You look a little weird...''

Tramping down the urge to shout that no he was in-fact so very not fine, Stiles nodded, ''Yeah, just didn't sleep very well last night.'' Which was a lie; last night had been one of the better nights.

''That's rough man, Allison said that...'' Scott launched into Allison's nightly routine and what made her sleep better (Scott). Stiles once again tuned out and instead thought about which questions he would ask Addy that night.

He was so very screwed.

*******

When he got home later that afternoon, his father was waiting for him. Stiles stopped in the doorway of the kitchen, watching as he hung up his cell phone. The Sheriff gestured for Stiles to sit down, so Stiles dropped his bag by the chair opposite his father and sat down.

''How was school?'' His Dad asked after a few moments.

Stiles shrugged, ''It was okay; no more homework at least.''

The Sheriff nodded, ''Good, that's good...'' He trailed off looking a little lost.

''Is there something bothering you, Dad?'' Stiles finally prompted.

His father visibly shook himself, ''The school called today and informed me that your grades were improving, but that you weren't participating in class as much as you used too.'' Stiles waited for him to continue. ''You look better now, healthier, but there is still something wrong.''

Licking his lips, Stiles looked down at the table and tried to come up with a witty response, something that would make his Dad stop worrying; but he drew a blank and instead he settled on telling the truth. ''I don't know Dad, my sleep patterns been kinda messed up lately, but it's getting better.''

Watching him intently for a minute, the Sheriff finally nodded, ''Okay, but you know that if there is something bothering you, you can talk me about it, right?''

Stiles threw him a small smile and nodded, ''Yeah Dad, I know.''

*******

Once his father had left for his night shift at the station, Stiles hurried upstairs and rushed through his normal routine; shower, teeth, pee. He was eager to get to sleep; something he hadn't thought possible just a few weeks ago. Stiles knew that this whole thing was far from healthy, but it was helping him, so really what difference did it make?

He also knew that Scott was bound to notice eventually how distracted he was becoming, even with his Adderall he was having a hard time focusing on his friend, but he would deal with that when the time came. As Stiles fought to clear his racing mind, the darkness, which was slowly becoming a welcoming sight, claimed him once again.


	2. Unseen Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist the book reference - you'll see what I mean later! Thanks for reading!

Stiles was proven right on Scott's account, but had assumed it would take him longer to figure it out.

Later that week, Stiles had been woken from his evening nap (a new habit) by a text from his best friend, informing him that there was a pack meeting that night and if he didn't turn up, he would have the entire pack on his ass.

_Fucking wolves..._ he thought, angry that he had been woken in the middle of a conversation with Addy.

His phone beeped with another message, _Are you coming?_ He typed back a quick confirmation and pulled on the nearest pair of jeans. He didn't need this shit; he needed to _sleep_.

_Fucking wolves..._

*****TW*****

Stiles took his time just to be a shit, but soon enough he found himself entering Derek's lair.

Isaac stood leaning against the big wooden table, Scott and Allison were snuggled up on the couch and Lydia was perched on the arm looking as pissed off as he felt. His eyes settled on Derek who was looming by the huge windows.

''You summoned?'' He said sarcastically, sticking his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Derek stared at him impassively, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl etched so deep into his face, Stiles was sure it must hurt.

''Stiles, bro-'' Scott started, but Stiles cut him off.

''If there was something you wanted me to research, you would have turned up at my damn window, so what's with the meeting?'' He said to Derek.

''Something is wrong with you.'' Derek replied.

Stiles glared at him, ''I could say the same to you,''

Derek huffed and rolled his eyes, ''Something is different. You're acting weirder than usual, and Scott said you aren't sleeping properly.''

Stiles turned his glare to his supposed best friend, who at least had the decency to look ashamed. ''And you smell different.'' Derek finished.

''I smell different?'' Stiles repeated, confused.

''There is another scent mixing with yours.'' Derek explained. Stiles looked at Scott and Isaac who both nodded, the former looking worried. The relationship between himself and Derek was better than it had been in the beginning, and although Stiles trusted him, he was still wary. Scott on the other hand, wouldn't lie to him about something like that, and hadn't given him any reason not to trust him; lately.

''Okay,'' Stiles finally said, ''Who do I smell like?''

Scott cracked a smile at his choice of words and shrugged, ''It's not a scent we recognise.''

Derek came closer and circled around Stiles, ''Have you met anyone new recently? Someone we don't know?''

Stiles flapped his hands at Derek, ''Dude, back off!,'' He waited until Derek glared at him and went to stand next to Isaac before continuing. ''No, I haven't met anyone, the only places I go are here and school.''

_But,_ his mind whispered, _that isn't quite right now is it? You go to the woods, you met Addy recently..._ Stiles shook himself mentally. Yeah that's a great idea! Tell them all about the girl of your dreams and how she helps to keep the monsters away.

''Are you sure?'' Derek pressed. Stiles hesitated for a second but it was enough for Derek to pounce, ''Stiles,'' He growled.

''It's not...I don't, she-'' He wasn't sure how to say it.

''She?'' Scott picked up, eyeing Stiles as if he had grown a second head; even Lydia looked interested.

Stiles groaned and released the breath he wasn't aware he was holding, ''Fine!,'' He admitted. ''There is this one girl...''

''Who?'' Derek urged.

''If you shut up growling for one fucking second, I'll tell you!'' Stiles bit out. Derek rolled his eyes but gestured for him to continue. ''There is this one girl, but it doesn't make sense for her to be connected.''

''Why not? Who is she?'' Allison chimed in.

''I met her in a nightmare.'' Stiles mumbled, heat creeping up his neck and pooling in his cheeks. _Fucking wolves..._ he thought again.

''What did you just say?'' Derek said, icily.

Stiles flailed his arms in his general direction, ''I said, I met her in my nightmare! Okay?! Would you like me to write it down? Maybe send it to you in an email; do you even have an email?'' He tagged on the end. Silence followed his outburst, which was actually worse than if they had just laughed at him. Although, if they did start laughing, he would just ask his Dad to shoot them all. His Dad was cool like that.

''So, you're saying she's imaginary?'' Lydia finally asked.

Stiles shook his head in resignation, ''I don't know, okay? All I know that the only new person I've met recently,'' He stopped to glare in Derek's direction. ''is Addy.''

''That still doesn't explain the new scent...'' Isaac pointed out, breaking his silence. Derek was staring at him as if the girl in question would just pop on out of his head so he could kill her and be done with it. Stiles looked away; he'd had enough embarrassment for one day, thank you very fucking much.

They must have come up with a dozen different theories each one crazier than the last, and they shot them all down. In the end the only one who could answer their questions was inside Stiles' head; Addy had some explaining to do.

*****TW*****

_Stiles didn't even give her chance to sit down before he started questioning her that night._

_Addy held her hands out in front of her and tried to speak, but Stiles hadn't finished; he had shit to say and she was going to listen. He ranted and raved at her and she stood there and took it, a bemused expression on her face, until there was a loud crack from the trees. Suddenly, the gentle, funny girl he knew vanished and instead she became cold and distant. Her usually lively eyes, now held a dangerous glint that chilled Stiles to the bone._

_''Stiles,'' She said, her voice lacking it's usual warmth. ''get out of here.''_

_Stiles swallowed around his suddenly dry throat, ''H-how exactly-''_

_''Wake up, now!'' She shouted before running full pelt for the opposite tree line and disappearing into the darkness. He felt the panic he hadn't felt for weeks, rear up in his chest, choking him. His feet slipped on a patch of mud and he fell backwards, the air in his lungs leaving him with a whoosh. The sky above him lit up as lightening streaked through it; in that split second, Stiles caught a glimpse of something out the corner of his eye, and felt his heart constrict in fright._

_It was big, furry and it's eyes glowed bright green. Pain shot down his arm as he felt himself being pulled backwards-_

*****TW*****

Stiles flailed and lashed his arm out, catching something warm and distinctly human.

''Stiles!'' Scott shouted as he grabbed his best friends flying arms and pinned them down. Correction; human _ish_. He tried to breath through the panic induced haze, and focus on Scott but felt himself go cold as movement in the doorway caught his attention.

A beat up looking Addy stood swaying in the doorway. Stiles let out an involuntary yell as he pushed passed Scott and jumped out of the bed and to his feet. ''Hey,'' She croaked, looking up at him.

''What the _actual fuck_ just happened?!'' He hissed, shaking her by the shoulders.

''Stiles...?'' Scott said, from behind him. ''What are you doing?''

He glanced back at him, ''This is Addy! The girl I was telling you about.'' He said, excitedly.

''He can't see me.'' Addy told him, quietly. She wasn't struggling to free herself, neither did she seem affected by the shaking. Stiles stopped and turned to face Scott fully; Scott who was looking at him as if he had never seen him before, and thought he was riding the crazy train.

''Stiles, who are you talking to?'' He asked, visibly confused.

_Well fuck..._

*****TW*****

Derek arrived first and almost immediately after entering the room, he froze. ''That's the scent.'' He stated, wrinkling his nose slightly. If Stiles wasn't afraid he was going insane, he would totally take the piss out of the guy for that. Instead, he just rolled his eyes and gestured to Addy who was standing about a foot away from Derek. Derek scanned the room, sniffing and finally settled on a space a few inches to the right of Addy, but still, Stiles was impressed. Not that he would ever admit it.

Addy was watching Derek in something akin to amusement. ''Tell him, I mean no harm.''

Stiles sighed and did as he was told, ''Then why are you here?'' Derek growled in response.

_That is a very good question..._ Stiles thought, glancing at Addy.

She shrugged, ''The best I can figure is that you need more protection, so here I am.''

''Protection?'' Stiles echoed, forgetting that only he heard the full sentence. Derek and Scott both growled this time, low and deep in their chests. He quickly filled them in.

''Protection from what?'' Scott asked.

''From whatever is in the darkness...'' She said, Stiles passing it on.

''So you're what, like my guardian angel or something?'' He said, incredulously.

Addy sat down on the bed next to him, and Stiles watched as Derek's head turned to follow the scent. ''In a way, sure, but that's not exactly it.''

''How do we know you're telling the truth?'' Derek snarled once Stiles finished speaking.

This time Stiles shrugged, ''If she was going to kill me, trust me, she would have done it by now. She had plenty of chances in the dreams; I trust her.'' Addy smiled at him.

Derek scoffed, ''Only you could trust an invisible person.''

''She's not invisible to me!''

''Guys this isn't helping.'' She said, quickly.

Nodding, Stiles threw himself backwards on the bed and covered his eyes. Man, his head hurt with all this shit.

''Look, I was assigned to you when Scott was turned. Not everyone has a guardian, werewolves don't need them; they can protect themselves. Hunters don't usually need them; same reason. But you...'' He cracked an eye open to look at her. ''Stiles, you have no idea how important you are to this pack. They need you as much as you need them; that's why I'm here.''

Derek didn't like it one bit, Scott was dubious and his father just shook his head in resignation, but finally they had to accept what Addy had said as truth. At least until something happened to disprove it. Which with their track record was bound to happen eventually.

*****TW*****

The next morning, Stiles walked into the kitchen talking to Addy, but looked up sharply when his father dropped the plate he was carrying to the sink. He stood there for a minute staring, before Stiles realised that he wasn't looking at him, he was looking at Addy. She raised her eyebrows in surprise, ''You can see me?'' The Sheriff nodded once and sat down heavily at the table.

''Nice to meet you,'' He choked out.

Addy smiled carefully at him, ''You too, sir.'' Stiles glanced between them and decided that they needed to leave immediately. He grabbed a slice of toast and pushed Addy towards the door; he was pulling his grades up dammit, he couldn't be late for school.

*****TW*****

''I could totally kill him for this, you know...'' Addy said conversationally, as they sat in Harris' classroom after school. It was her fault they were there in the first place; he had been talking to her when Harris caught him and doled out the detention.

Stiles grinned behind his hand, ''Really?'' He whispered. She nodded, smirking up at the front desk. It was times like this, that Stiles could see exactly how they were connected.

Although it seemed to last an eternity, finally Harris let them go; let Stiles go, but...whatever. After that it didn't take long before they were back at Derek's apartment, and the questioning began again. It took hours because Stiles was still the only one there who could see her; a fact no one was happy about.

''Tell your wolf to calm down.'' Addy said, tightly. Derek had been stalking the room for the last half hour, but was gradually getting closer to where Stiles was sitting; something Addy clearly wasn't very happy about.

He threw her a look and rolled his eyes. ''He isn't _my_ wolf,'' He mouthed at her.

She just smirked at him, ''Then tell _the_ wolf to calm down.'' Stiles shifted uncomfortably when Derek asked what she had said.

_Fucking guardians..._

''I know it's confusing, but trust me, I've told you everything I can.'' Addy groaned later that night when they were safely back in Stiles' bedroom. Something which his father hadn't been very sure about – Addy had assured him that under no circumstances would anything happen and he had relented.

''Fine, then tell me about guardians, about you.'' Stiles said, changing tactics.

''I've had other charges, but I can't remember much about them,'' At his curious look, she explained. ''When it's time for us to be reassigned, our memories of our previous charges are wiped as much as possible. This helps us to focus solely on our current charge. In this case – you.''

''So you were assigned to me when Scott was turned?''

She nodded, ''I've been there everyday since. All those close calls you had?'' Addy smirked. ''That was me.''

He looked down at his fingers, ''What about the crash?''

''It would've been worse,'' She replied, quietly. As the memories of the Darach filled his mind, he fell silent and Addy left him on the bed to go and look around his room. When she got to his book shelf, he glanced up, she was holding his favourite book – _The Maze Runner_. Stiles couldn’t help but see certain similarities between himself and Thomas; they both didn't have a clue what they were doing, monsters filled their lives, and everything seemed to be out of their control.

Also, they were both awesome.

''I've seen you read this,'' Addy smiled. ''I always wondered what it was about.''

Something occurred to him suddenly, ''When you say you saw me...''

She froze, a flash of guilt crossed her face. Mortification rose inside him, and he felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment, he covered his face with his hands and willed himself to be cool.

''If it's any consolation, I didn't see anything _too_ private.'' She said, lightly.

He bit his lip and looked up, ''Seriously?''

She nodded, ''Showers, bathroom breaks...'' She blushed this time. ''Private time, I always left.''

Embarrassment aside, _private time_ still cracked him up. She swatted his arm, ''Shut it!''

Once his laughter became the odd chortle, he asked, ''How did you leave? Where did you go?''

''I don't know what you would call it, but I just think of it as sleeping. Guardians don't really need to rest unless their charge is seriously hurt and they need to help them, but we can if we choose to. Whenever you weren't in any danger and needed to be alone, I left.''

''I can't believe we're even having this conversation, how is this my life?'' He chuckled.

Addy rolled her eyes at him, ''Still don't understand those websites though...'' Stiles just glared at her as she laughed at him.

_Fucking guardians..._


End file.
